Goodbye Tolls Welcome ICBC rates hike.
- Thread starter take8easy
- Start date
If everyone did pay attention when they drive our insurance premiums would be 1/10 what they currently are. And we would not need seat belts and cars would not need bumpers, etc. But obviously that is not the way the world works.
If we did not fall asleep while having a smoke or leave matches out for kids to play with, etc. we would not need smoke detectors in our homes either. And if pigs could fly, we would worry a lot more about what is falling on us from out of the sky lol.
JD
It was also reported on Global news a couple of nights ago. Where I believe they said ICBC
reported they were broke and this is the reason they upped our rates. Then the so called truth
came out after that in the same segment of the news where it was the "Cluck" govt who stole a
Billion dollars from ICBC to ramp up our tax payer coffers.
A BILLION Dollars?! And it looks like they will get away with it.
Would love to know where that money really went.
Would be nice if we could make that Cheshire Cat accountable for her actions.
Going to be interesting to see if the NDP makes any comments about this whole fiasco.
.........................QM'r
What about the RCMP. Aren't they public sector workers too? :lol:
Your statements remind me of that Asshole Bill Vanderscam and his relentless..............Privatization, privatization.
Oh he privatized alright. Like when he gave the Expo grounds to Fey leung. Or however you spell her name.
Fuckin dickhead.
........................QM'r
Has anybody thought about that the licensing requirements and testing is way too lax. Why does a person go in every five years and just hand in their expired license and get a new one? Bad driving habits tend to carry on and on even though we may be accident free. I live on a major arterial in Vancouver and at least twice a week I see a crash that is all about bad driving habits.
Everyone should have to take their written and road test every 5 years on renewal of their license, and if you fail you would go back to the L designation and must take an approved drivers program before taking the road test again. Fail twice and you would have to go back to L and once taking an approved drivers program and passing the road test your license is only good for 2 years. Fail a third time and it would be the same except once you get your licenses it is only valid for one year.
As well persons under 25 and older than 75 should have to take their written and road test annually. This should apply for those from other countries also for a period of 5 years.
If the government had more stringent licensing, testing and traffic penalties we might see a reduction of accidents.
Everyone should have to take their written and road test every 5 years on renewal of their license, and if you fail you would go back to the L designation and must take an approved drivers program before taking the road test again. Fail twice and you would have to go back to L and once taking an approved drivers program and passing the road test your license is only good for 2 years. Fail a third time and it would be the same except once you get your licenses it is only valid for one year.
As well persons under 25 and older than 75 should have to take their written and road test annually. This should apply for those from other countries also for a period of 5 years.
If the government had more stringent licensing, testing and traffic penalties we might see a reduction of accidents.
Last edited:
I love the way some posters wrote "Stole a Billion dollars" as if Clark or someone took the money and put in their own pocket. Our Government isn't run that loose. As someone already pointed out, it was all written down what they took. As for where it went, like usual it went to piss poorly managed projects that were often awarded to friends, and it went to salaries of over priced government workers.
But carry on ranting as it sounds much better when you say so and so Stole a billion dollars.
(For the record, I disagree with Government taking money out of crown corporations but let's be honest, the NDP would do the same thing.)
But carry on ranting as it sounds much better when you say so and so Stole a billion dollars.
(For the record, I disagree with Government taking money out of crown corporations but let's be honest, the NDP would do the same thing.)
there are things called independent auditors....
besides, there is nothing wrong with a sole shareholder declaring a dividend to themselves, its how they report it from a fiscal perspective in the government budget that would possibly be a concern
the other thing is that a non-profit always moves on either side of profitability and loss, impossible to break even every year, non-profits tend to get hammered if they have too large a surplus or too much loss and resulting debt
if the government has profit in a crown corporation and expenses requiring borrowing in another area of their budget, it is not unreasonable to use the profits to offset the loss rather than pay interest on a commercial loan. its just what process you use and if it is being manipulated for political gain or cover up
besides, there is nothing wrong with a sole shareholder declaring a dividend to themselves, its how they report it from a fiscal perspective in the government budget that would possibly be a concern
the other thing is that a non-profit always moves on either side of profitability and loss, impossible to break even every year, non-profits tend to get hammered if they have too large a surplus or too much loss and resulting debt
if the government has profit in a crown corporation and expenses requiring borrowing in another area of their budget, it is not unreasonable to use the profits to offset the loss rather than pay interest on a commercial loan. its just what process you use and if it is being manipulated for political gain or cover up
Wow. If you guys are upset about ICBC wait until the audit reports from BC Hydro come out. There's plenty of websites and independent accountants who have been warning about the debt BC Hydro has been accumulating for years. They too were paying dividends to the government general coffers just so the Liberals could say they balanced the budget. Just read Rafe Mair and Norman Farrell's websites.
I'm not so sure privatization is always the best solution. Take the BC Highways maintenance contracts for example. The BC Government privatized Highways maintenance over twenty years ago. These private companies are working on contracts to meet minimum standards of care along our highway network. Private companies exist to earn a profit. There's nothing wrong with that, except when it comes to meeting safety standards. I believe the old system of public paid Highway workers provided better maintenance of our roads. Most of the same workers maintained their jobs, they just changed hats and were given different mandates.
Here's a good summary...
I'm not so sure privatization is always the best solution. Take the BC Highways maintenance contracts for example. The BC Government privatized Highways maintenance over twenty years ago. These private companies are working on contracts to meet minimum standards of care along our highway network. Private companies exist to earn a profit. There's nothing wrong with that, except when it comes to meeting safety standards. I believe the old system of public paid Highway workers provided better maintenance of our roads. Most of the same workers maintained their jobs, they just changed hats and were given different mandates.
Here's a good summary...
Couldn't agree more Quart. Myself and friends always wonder where all this " general tax " money goes. Bizzare!! All I keep hearing is cash strapped everywhere etc etc.
All I know is this. Where I work, my company consistently preaches how tight things. And yet, higher bonuses are given, company stock is surging, no ending expansion etc. On the other side of the coin....many analysts who cover the company & stock all say --- the company is generating money hand over fist lol!!
There you go. I don't always believe in the stories. Especially when money and greed are at the for front!! Honestly, none of us really ever know what truly goes on behind the scenes.
All I know is this. Where I work, my company consistently preaches how tight things. And yet, higher bonuses are given, company stock is surging, no ending expansion etc. On the other side of the coin....many analysts who cover the company & stock all say --- the company is generating money hand over fist lol!!
There you go. I don't always believe in the stories. Especially when money and greed are at the for front!! Honestly, none of us really ever know what truly goes on behind the scenes.
One major problem is the high rate of fraudulent claims for injury. It's skyrocketed in recent years.
you don't, you have the same crooked accounting that Princess Allison brought to Alberta, she copied the idea from BC
it's an operating surplus, they're still driving you into debt on the Capital side
You hit the nail on the head seemor. Since the early 2000's, the Liberals siphoned about $1.2 B. out of I C B C. That's $1.2 B. that I C B C didn't have to reinvest and put into reserves to keep our rates down.
Add to that the approx. $100 M. in overhead that the Liberals added to I C B C when they forced them to take over Driver Service (old Motor Vehicle Branch), all the while the Province retained the revenue from said Driver Services. Both the Fed's and the Province have been playing one big shell game when it comes to so called balanced/surplus budgets etc. etc.. Does not matter who's running the ship, NDP, Liberals, Conservatives, or Greens....they all do it!!
Add to that the approx. $100 M. in overhead that the Liberals added to I C B C when they forced them to take over Driver Service (old Motor Vehicle Branch), all the while the Province retained the revenue from said Driver Services. Both the Fed's and the Province have been playing one big shell game when it comes to so called balanced/surplus budgets etc. etc.. Does not matter who's running the ship, NDP, Liberals, Conservatives, or Greens....they all do it!!
yes, it called off balance sheet finance. borrow through a subsidiary or affiliate company and siphon the profits from that entity into the parent
designed to hide actual liabilities to support a higher share price in the parent (corporate world) or hide from the public actual taxation and government debt
its what enron were doing
designed to hide actual liabilities to support a higher share price in the parent (corporate world) or hide from the public actual taxation and government debt
its what enron were doing
I wish that money they syphoned off was given to me so I could go lick more pussy!! I'll bet you do too!! :lol:
Seriously though, I believe you answered your own question, Where does the money go?
To those who collect the higher bonuses, paid money's syphoned into company stock. All for the rich and the business
and you and me who work on the small end of the scale of "said" company?
Well, we see it all as being pissed away and nothing given back to the little guy who does all the friggin work,
to keep those fat cats rolling in their company stocks.
Sad isn't it? But that's reality my friend. We just weren't lucky enough to be at the top end of things.
.......................QM'r
well as the song goes, I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.....
work hard, save your money, read and learn the capital markets and some day you will be a capital investor as well
work hard, save your money, read and learn the capital markets and some day you will be a capital investor as well
LOL!! Yup, done all those things my friend.
Only problem is I didn't have a billion to syphon into my investments.
ound:What the hell am I laughing at?
out:.........................QM'r
yes, it is a challenging era we live in for all, governments are facing an aging baby boomer population without the tax base from the younger generation to support it
with retirement and medical expenses for this older demographic things will continually get squeezed, mainly because the government dipped into the savings reserves which should have been set aside
if the government mainly focused on spending which stimulated the economy that would be different but it is a "how best to spend to get re-elected" era
even worse that the voter base believe what they want to believe and we have elected officials all about budget optics and manipulation
with primary resources down, and the taxes that come from it, our economy has a tough time grinding itself back into a growth cycle
with retirement and medical expenses for this older demographic things will continually get squeezed, mainly because the government dipped into the savings reserves which should have been set aside
if the government mainly focused on spending which stimulated the economy that would be different but it is a "how best to spend to get re-elected" era
even worse that the voter base believe what they want to believe and we have elected officials all about budget optics and manipulation
with primary resources down, and the taxes that come from it, our economy has a tough time grinding itself back into a growth cycle
Governments know voters have short attention spans. That's why they do all the taxy stuff early on.
They also mostly govern, as you said, to get re-elected. Essentially it's always campaigning rather than governing.
The BC Liberals understod that sound bites, (Debt-Free BC!!) and repeated mantras (Fast Ferries - BAD) will stick in the minds of voters longer than proper accounting, long-term planning and due diligence.
The money they wasted on over-runs on their projects made the Fast Ferries look like pocket change, but they had a lot of people convinced they knew how to manage money.
They certainly do not, especially when we still talk about fast fairies and the likes of Bill Vanderscam.
But then again you might be right. Only the select few who Bother to remember, really do remember.
And there in lies the true agenda of today's government. Not to govern but how to pull the wool over the
eyes of the masses and at the same time keep on campaigning while governing.
The other thing that concerns me is if the rich are really getting richer and the poor are getting more poor.
Who is going to support the tax base if most people are standing in soup kitchen lines like back during
the depression era? Al Capone and the likes of him knew how to handle that problem.
I wonder if the govt has thought about that possibility yet? Or do they really give a shit since tenure
is usually only a four year problem for most.
.....................QM'r
I'm not surprised ICBC's rates are going up (though paying more is gonna suck for me). The BC Liberals looted like $ 1.5 billion of ICBC's cash reserves, to do things like subsidize LNG and spend tens of milions on advertising for themselves. Basically, it's the old tactic of claiming Crown Corporations are separate "private" entities when they have costs to pay, but when they have cash to spare, the province swoops in to transfer money out of the "public institution". Maybe the new government could transfer back about a billion, since they announced they have an unexpected surplus this year - but I wouldn't hold your breath on that. No doubt there are other holes that have to be plugged somewhere.
Plus the scene in general is becoming more costly and litigious You know those ads on TV for lawyers who want you to talk to them before ICBC? Those ambulance-chasers are directly costing all of us, bringing US-style frivolous lawsuits to Canada. (The people who do the real danage to others are usually drunk drivers and the like, so that shit is best dealt with by criminal courts.)
Plus the scene in general is becoming more costly and litigious You know those ads on TV for lawyers who want you to talk to them before ICBC? Those ambulance-chasers are directly costing all of us, bringing US-style frivolous lawsuits to Canada. (The people who do the real danage to others are usually drunk drivers and the like, so that shit is best dealt with by criminal courts.)
